“The last two games have shown how useful it is to be able to bring quality off the bench”

After securing a point with an injury-time goal away to 1. FC Kaiserslautern last time out, HSV now host SC Paderborn on Saturday afternoon, a special game for coach Steffen Baumgart, who used to coach the team currently in fourth place in the league. The visitors will come to Hamburg full of confidence thanks to their ongoing three-game unbeaten run at the Volksparkstadion. Baumgart discussed the importance of this weekend’s game, as well as his squad and what kind of match he expects at the press conference on Thursday. Steffen Baumgart spoke in detail about….​​​​​​​

…the squad: Daniel Heuer Fernandes isn’t fit to play on Saturday. Bakery Jatta is back in team training and should be able to handle a full workload again next week. Jonas Meffert missed training today, however this was planned, and he will be able to play at the weekend. Otherwise, everyone else is available. Once again, we will have lots of players with real quality to choose from. Some of the lads will have to settle for not always being in the starting XI. The last two games have shown how useful it is to be able to bring quality off the bench. We don’t want to decide on our starting XI just yet.

"The Volkspark always being full and bringing such energy is enjoyable – it just shows how much the fans love the club."

…SC Paderborn: I had four great and successful years there as a coach. You don’t forget times like those, so the club will always have a special place in my heart. Paderborn is a place where you can work in peace, allowing the team and players to develop. You can go through a bad phase without the noise getting too much. This has paid off as Paderborn have been in the top third of the table in each of the last three years, as they are once again now. Lukas Kwasniok is a coach that has an answer to everything. He finds out strengths and weaknesses of opponents and always finds a way to react to them. To win this game, we will need to have clarity in possession, good positioning and a strong performance in all areas of the pitch.

…the current state of play in the league: This 2. Bundesliga is a strong and competitive league. There are no teams that are just making up the numbers, which is why the table is so tight. I think teams will start to have a fair idea of where they are heading after 10 games. Then, you have to be near the top of the table with 10 matchdays to go because the season effectively starts again. It’s a long season and we have to take each game as it comes. The fact that we get to experience the unbelievable support from our supporters every day is really special – I love it! The Volkspark always being full and bringing such energy is also enjoyable – it’s not a given and it just shows how much the fans love the club.